This invention relates to a connector attachment tool and more particularly, to a tool which selectively attaches a connector to a hose and to a method for attaching such a connector to a hose.
Hoses are used in a wide variety of apparatuses, such as and without limitation within automobiles, to receive and convey or transport fluid to a device, such as a hydraulic type brake, in order to cause the device to perform some desired function (e.g. braking of the vehicle). Accordingly, many of these hoses are typically and physically connected to a device or assembly which is to selectively receive the transported fluid and/or to a source of the fluid. Some of these hoses are also connected to other hoses and cooperate with these other hoses to transport the fluid in a desired manner. Accordingly, a connector must typically be attached to each end of each of the hoses in order to allow these hoses to be easily and efficiently connected to a source of fluid, to a device which is to receive the fluid, and/or to other hoses in the previously delineated manner.
Since a relatively diverse number of hose lengths are required within an apparatus and since these numbers and lengths may change as the apparatus is modified, it is typically efficient to obtain one or more relatively large rolls of hose and to selectively cut these rolls in order to provide for a desired number of hoses having a respective and desired length. Moreover, to increase the resistance of these provided or created hoses to structural damage or deformation, each rolled hose is typically contained within a sheath or outer cover which is typically formed from braided or intermeshing wire or some other relatively hard but flexible material.
While these sheathed rolls of hose allow various numbers and lengths of hoses to be efficiently created, they do not allow the required connectors to be easily and efficiently placed upon the created hoses. That is, the sheath at each end of each formed hose is typically dislodged from the hose or is frayed due to the cutting or removal of each respective hose from the roll. A dislodged sheath may contact an individual (e.g. the hand of an individual) placing connectors upon each end of a hose and cause pain, discomfort, or annoyance to that individual, thereby reducing connector placement efficiency and undesirably increasing the overall cost of assembling these hoses.
There is therefore a need for a tool which allows connectors to be placed upon a hose in a manner which reduces the potential or liklihood of contact between an individual and a dislodged sheath as the individual places the connectors upon the hose. There is also a need for a method for placing connectors upon a hose which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior connector placement methods.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a tool which allows for the selective placement of a connector upon a hose in a manner which overcomes the previously delineated drawbacks of prior connector placement methodologies.
It is a second object of the invention to provide a method for placing a connector onto a hose which overcomes the previously delineated drawbacks of prior connector placement methodologies.
According to a first aspect of the present invention an apparatus is provided for use with a hose of the type having a frayed end portion upon which a connector is to be attached. The apparatus includes a hose retention cavity which selectively receives the frayed end portion and the connector, thereby allowing the connector to be selectively attached to the frayed end portion.
According to a second aspect of the present invention an apparatus is provided comprising a first handle having a first retention portion; and a second handle which is pivotally coupled to the first handle and which has a second retention portion which is substantially identical to the first retention portion and which cooperates with the first retention portion to selectively form a hose retention cavity.
According to a third aspect of the present invention a method for placing a connector upon a braided hose is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing a first member; providing a second member; providing first and second retention members; placing the first retention member upon the first member; placing the second retention member upon the second member; placing a portion of the braided hose upon the second retention member; causing the second retention member to contact the first retention member, effective to form a hose reception cavity which contains the portion of the braided hose; and placing the connector upon the portion of said hose residing within the hose reception cavity.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and by reference to the following drawings.